The Guardians (1971) User Reviews (6)

Good news about bad news.

[jhtch · 8/10 · 20 December 2009]

I welcome the release, at last, of the series on DVD in February of 2010. When I first saw it on ITV in 1971 it struck me as a continuation of the tradition that included such as the novel and film 1984 and, albeit in a lighter vein, the later series House of Cards.

It paints a desolate picture of Britain at some point in an unspecified near future where dystopia is the new civilization, and resistance to it is apparently futile. Although I recall that the grim image looked unlikely to be resolved into a happy ending, I missed the final few episodes. So, like me, you will have to watch it to find out. Another good reason for buying the DVD set when it is released in Feb 2010.

Sadly, drama created in the USA seems incapable of reaching sufficiently deep to create such a powerful description of desperation and squalid futility.

Finally, comments prior to this one.... draw parallels between this work and the Labour Party's "unofficial' manifesto, whatever that might be. The suggestion of such a connection is partisan and ill-founded.

The series was aired in 1971, at which time Edward Heath was Prime Minister - leading the Conservative Party in its majority government.

No political party these days seems immune from allegations of manipulation and control that this series portrays.

It's likely that the public perception of politics is jaundiced, not only by Watergate, Iran-Contra, Patriot Act, and so on and so forth, but also by exposure to fictional drama such as this one.

In that, also, it is powerful.

A Forgotten Gem

[screenman · 8/10 · 30 January 2008]

It seems almost incredible that no other comment exists in respect to this programme.

'The Guardians' was an entirely plausible and harrowing representation of leadership spinning out of control.

Britain has broken up. There is public dissent and social disorder. The government introduce 'emergency measures' in order to ensure the 'rule of law'. One of those measures is the construction of a new police force called The Guardians. They are a sort of cross between America's national guard and the Nazis' gestapo. Very quickly, they become almost a law unto themselves.

A group of intellectuals and media-types see what is happening and attempt to excite public attention and improve their accountability. They find themselves being victimised in lots of insidious ways, eventually uniting as a clandestine organisation under the name 'Quarmby'. A more militant splinter group begin taking direct action and simply earn for themselves the definition of terrorist.

This plays directly into the Guardians' hands. Servile politicians are moved to legislate them even greater powers. With the inevitable results.

The series has no happy ending. Quarmby is destroyed. The prime minister is forced to commit suicide in order to save his family. The coupe is complete.

'The Guardians' was one of several highly innovative short-running programmes that appeared during the late 1960's and early 70's. 'The Prisoner' was another. Strangely, this little gem seems to have been lost. Perhaps it was too close to the knuckle. Much of 'New' Labour's 'unofficial' manifesto - that's the one where they do the opposite of what they promise (which is usually everything) could have been lifted from this programme.

The Guardians - banned from circulation for over 40 years

[william-read-2 · 9/10 · 21 December 2020]

Enjoying this series as a sixth-former in 1971 the future picture of England was repeated, to a large extent, in the later series "1990" set in the 1980s. Both show a country that has shown the current democratic system the door, replacing it with an authoritarian regime that struggles to contain a disparate range of opponents. The decades since 1971 showed only a limited moving forward in the direction of The Guardians, but in 2020 perhaps the coronavirus pandemic shows how quickly the "democreatic" rights of the citizenry can be cast aside. Freedom of travel, both within the country and abroad, are severely restricted, as is freedom of association etc. The Guardians was never available on VHS, and is now only on DVD... well worth a look

A Dystopian Satire That Stands the Test of Time

[russgreg · 28 March 2010]

"The Guardians" was first shown in 1971 and then largely forgotten about. It was never repeated on British television and it's release on DVD in 2010 was a wonderful surprise.

"The Guardians" has survived the test of time remarkably well. It's not flawless - at times it veers uneasily between serious drama and black comedy - but on the whole it's brilliantly entertaining with a cast of complex and engaging characters.

By the way, "Screenman's" review gives an inaccurate account of the ending and compares the plot with "Labour's 'unofficial' manifesto". I would have thought that in view of the Conservative Party's past support for tyrants like Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot and General Pinochet, the similarity between them and fascistic regime of the Guardians is much more apposite.

Brexit fortold

[ph-nijman · 10/10 · 19 May 2019]

The Guardians tells the story of an ununitedd kingdom under fascist-populist rule. What so long didn't seem possible now looks all to much possibleith the rise of te populist politicians and a split country. Great drama, you have to see it

Excellent start, then tails off

[midbrowcontrarian · 7/10 · 28 August 2022]

The brief introduction states that England is ruled by a fascist military force called The Guardians. In fact the political setup is rather more nuanced. The elderly Prime Minister Sir Timothy Hobson (Cyril Luckham) is pious, ponderous and paternalistic, more Malcolm Muggeridge than Mussolini. He has some authority but is beholden to a mysterious general whose opinions are conveyed by a go-between, the hard and ruthless Secretary to the Cabinet Dennis Norman (Derek Smith).

The first few episodes concern Government tensions and power struggles and are very good. The most thoughtful one is the second, dominated by a lengthy argument in a gentleman's club between Sir Timothy and a liberal minded old chum. Sadly it then appears to have run out of political ideas, the focus switching to less important and generally uninteresting characters. Sir Timothy fails to appear in four episodes, some of them little more than soap opera. The ending is dramatic, although far fetched.

Other reviewers have drawn parallels with various British governments so I'll feel free to add my tuppence worth. The only recent experience of authoritarian rule in Britain was during the pandemic and the imposition of draconian and often absurd decrees, and where Government was largely sub contracted to a group of medical panjandrums. In Parliament the only significant opposition came from a few liberty lovers on the Right of the Conservative Party.